JP5190704B2 - Retainer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a holder for holding, for example, a corrugated tube through which a plurality of electric wires, optical fibers, wire harnesses, and the like are inserted, and particularly for drawing out a part of wire rod parts in a corrugated tube in a desired direction. It relates to a suitable holder.

  The bellows-shaped corrugated tube is used, for example, for collectively storing and protecting wire parts such as electric wires and wire harnesses in the interior and arranging the wire parts according to the layout. Moreover, about this corrugated tube, since the two corrugated tube end parts are connected or communicated together and held together or bent in a predetermined direction, the main part of the corrugated tube is Holders and protectors to be held have been developed and used.

In addition, in the corrugated tube held by this holder or protector, a part of the bundle (main trunk line) of wires and wire harnesses that are inserted and housed (branched wires) It is called “branch line.”) And then it is pulled out and routed to another location. For this reason, dedicated holders and protectors have also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-69562 2005-192329

  However, it is necessary to attach a branching portion for extending a certain length in the direction of branching from the main line routing direction to the holder described in Patent Document 1 described above. That is, in order to attach the branch part according to the installation direction to an appropriate place, it is necessary to prepare a dedicated holder having a specific shape corresponding to the branch part.

  On the other hand, in the case of the one described in Patent Document 2, when a part is to be branched, a branch pipe for partly branching and a joint for attaching the branch pipe to the main body are required. The structure is complicated accordingly. In addition, as in the case of the cited document 1, such branch pipes and joints are required to have a dedicated unique shape in accordance with the branching direction at each installation location.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is inserted into and accommodated in an accordion-like flexible tube (corrugated tube), for example, an electric wire, a wire harness, an optical fiber, or other main wire that is a wire component. It is an object of the present invention to provide a holder having a simple structure that can be pulled out and freely branched in a desired direction.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the holder according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (3) .
(1) a main body that holds a corrugated tube through which a bundle of electric wires serving as a main line is inserted;
A branch wire lead-out portion formed by opening a part of the main body portion and for drawing a part of the electric wire constituting the wire bundle as a branch wire;
A connecting portion that protrudes from the opening end of the branch line lead-out portion toward the outside of the main body, can be bent in any direction with respect to the main body, and / or can be twisted;
A support piece that is formed at the tip of the connecting portion and supports the branch line drawn from the branch line lead portion;
Have
The connecting portion protrudes from the end portion on the bottom side of the main body portion at the opening end portion of the branch line drawing portion toward the outside of the main body portion,
The main body portion is formed with a step portion that protrudes toward the outside of the main body portion, located on the bottom side of the main body portion from the position where the connecting portion protrudes from the opening end portion of the branch line lead-out portion. Being
about.
(2) A holder having the configuration of (1 ) above ,
The connecting portion has a width that is narrower than that of the support piece.
(3) A holder configured as described in (2 ) above ,
The connecting portion is substantially cylindrical or prismatic.

According to the holder configured as described in (1) above, for example, an electric wire, a wire harness, an optical fiber, or the like, which is a wire component housed in a corrugated tube, can be freely drawn out in an arbitrary direction via the connecting portion. It is possible to provide a holder having a simple structure capable of freely branching the wire part in a desired direction.
Further , according to the holder having the configuration of the above (1) , the branch line drawn from the holder has a protrusion formed on a place where the branch line is routed (for example, a to-be-routed surface inside the vehicle). It is possible to avoid damage to the branch line by touching.
According to the holders having the configurations of (2) and (3) , since the connecting portion can be configured with a simple structure, it can be integrally formed with the holder and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, a part of a trunk line such as an electric wire, a wire harness, or an optical fiber, which is a wire member housed in a hollow flexible tube (for example, a corrugated tube), is placed in a desired direction via a connecting portion. Since it can be pulled out freely, it is possible to provide a holder having a simple structure capable of freely branching a wire part in a desired direction.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a holder 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a working state when the ends of two corrugated tubes 40 having a bellows shape constituting a hollow flexible tube are connected and held. Show.

  The holder 10 also has a use as a connector that holds the corrugated tubes 40 having the same diameter or different diameters connected (or communicated) with each other. In particular, in the present invention, the wire rod parts in the corrugated tube 40 are branched. Used for. The holder 10 according to the present embodiment is roughly composed of two parts: a base 20 that constitutes a main body, and a first upper cover 30A and a second upper cover 30B that are connected by a flexible connecting portion 30C and attached to the base 20. Each of these is integrally formed using an appropriate synthetic resin material.

  As shown in FIG. 10, for example, the corrugated tube 40 is housed and protected in a state in which an electric wire bundle or the like (main trunk line) 50 composed of a plurality of electric wires, which are wire parts, is inserted therein, and is also used in an automobile. Piping and routing according to the layout inside the car body.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, in the case of the present embodiment, the base 20 mainly holds the bottom side and the side surface at the open end of each corrugated tube 40, and has a longitudinal (X) length. Holder portions 21 provided at both ends (front and rear) in the direction, and first base side locking portions (hereinafter abbreviated as “base side locking portions” 22) provided at both ends in the longitudinal (X) direction; Locking portions 23 provided on both front and rear ends in the longitudinal (X) direction and on both sides in the short (Y) direction orthogonal to the longitudinal (X) direction, and a fixing portion projecting downward from the center bottom in the longitudinal (X) direction 24, a pair of guide bars 25 provided near the center between the holder parts 21, a branch line lead part 26 provided at the center part in the longitudinal (X) direction, and an outer surface surrounding the branch line lead part 26 Of these, a step portion 27 provided on the lower surface (mounting surface S) and a portion near the step portion 27 It includes a connecting portion 28 attached to the attached surface S, a support piece 29 extending from the connecting portion 28, a.

  The holder portion 21 is formed in a shape capable of receiving the corrugated tube 40 to be connected and supporting the outer peripheral surface thereof. As shown in FIG. 6, an elastic holding piece 211 extending in the axial direction toward the end of the holder portion 21 is formed on the inner surface of the holder portion 21. The elastic holding pieces 211 are inserted into the inner surfaces of the end portions of the corrugated tubes 40, and are elastically engaged with the bellows valleys of the end portions to temporarily fix the corrugated tubes 40 to the base 20.

  The base side locking portion 22 is used for the main locking in conjunction with the cover closing operation performed after the temporary holding by the elastic holding piece 211, and elastically enters the bellows valley on the outer surface on the end side of each corrugated tube 40. This prevents the corrugated tube 40 from moving in the axial direction.

  The locking portion 23 has a substantially rectangular tube shape formed on each outer surface of the wall portion 21B of the holder portion 21, and is a connection that receives the connection pieces 31 of the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B. It has a single locking hole 23A. An elastic locking claw 23B shown in FIG. 6 protrudes into the connecting piece locking hole 23A.

  The fixing portion 24 is adapted to be attached to a member to be attached such as a panel inside the vehicle body (not shown). In the present embodiment, the fixing portion 24 is formed as a fixing means that is inserted into the attachment hole of the member to be attached and fixed.

  The guide bar 25 guides the first upper cover 30 </ b> A and the second upper cover 30 </ b> B so as to keep these covers in an appropriate posture when the first upper cover 30 </ b> A and the second upper cover 30 </ b> B are connected to the base 20. Make it smooth and reliable.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the branch wire lead-out portion 26 is used to send a desired wire or the like (branch wire) 50 </ b> A from any of the bundles of electric wires (main trunk wires) 50 accommodated in the corrugated tubes 40. An outlet that is pulled out from the end portion of the corrugated tube 40 is configured. In the present embodiment, the outlet is configured by a substantially U-shaped notch. Even if the branch lead portion 26 covers the base 20 by covering the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B from above, an open state is secured.

  The stepped portion 27 has a branch line 50 </ b> A drawn from the wire bundle 50, which is the main line in the corrugated tube 40, because a sharp protrusion or the like is formed at a place to be routed in the vehicle body or the like. It is possible to avoid damage caused by contact or locking with the above-described protrusions or the like when the lead-out part 26 is pulled out. As described above, the step portion 27 of the present embodiment is located outward from a position lower than the attachment position of the connection portion 28 on the attachment surface S to which the connection portion 28 of the base 20 constituting the main body portion of the holder 10 is attached. For example, it protrudes from the mounting surface S in the vertical direction (see FIGS. 1 to 3).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the stepped portion 27 of the present embodiment has a substantially flat plate shape protruding left and right from the mounting surface S, and is integrally formed with the base 20 by integral molding. The protruding length of the stepped portion 27 is formed to be a length L1 slightly shorter than the total length L2 of the connecting portion 28, and when viewed from directly below (or directly above), as shown in FIG. It is formed so as to have a symmetrical positional relationship across the connecting portion 28.

  The connecting portion 28 is for allowing the support piece 29 to be freely bent or displaced with respect to the base 20 in any direction such as up / down / left / right or twisting bending direction. As described above, the connecting portion 28 of the present embodiment is slightly more than the installation position of the stepped portion 27 of the mounting surface S on the outer surface facing the branch line leading portion 26 opened in the base 20 that is the main body portion of the holder 10. On the upper side, it is formed integrally with the base 20, and can be bent in any direction (up / down / left / right and axial direction) with respect to the base 20, as shown in FIG.

  The connecting portion 28 has a structure in which at least the width is narrower than that of the support piece 29. In this embodiment, the connecting portion 28 is formed in, for example, a substantially cylindrical shape (other than this, a prismatic shape or various cross-sectional shapes are available. Applicable). Further, as described above, the connecting portion 28 is configured such that the total length L2 is slightly longer than the protruding length L1 of the stepped portion 27, so that the bending operation is hindered by the stepped portion 27. Can be avoided.

  Further, the connecting portion 28 is configured such that the floor surface 26A of the branch line leading portion 26 opened in the base 20 and the uppermost position of the connecting portion 28 are flush with each other as shown in FIG. It is possible to ensure a smooth pull-out operation of the branch line.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support piece 29 is integrally attached to the base 20 via the connecting portion 28, and is branched from a wire bundle (main trunk line) 50 passing through the corrugated tube 40. The drawing start part of the electric wire (branch line) 50A that is drawn and extended in a direction different from the insertion direction is supported from below (see FIG. 10). The support piece 29 according to the present embodiment is formed of a thin plate having a rectangular shape, and is formed by integral molding with the connecting portion 28 and the base 20 using an appropriate resin material.

  Further, the support piece 29 has a protruding portion 29A protruding in the width direction from the tip portion. When the electric wire 50A is supported on the support piece 29, the electric wire 50A is secured to the support piece 29 by, for example, wrapping with an appropriate separate part such as a tape, a band, or a ring, which will be described later. Although the support piece 29 is prevented from falling off, the support piece 29 is likely to be detached from the support piece 29 when appropriate other parts such as a tape T (see FIG. 10), a band, and a ring wound around the support piece 29 are removed. To prevent.

  As a manufacturing method for forming the connecting portion 28 and the support piece 29 on the base 20, for example, a plastic mold for forming the base 20 is structured so that the connecting portion 28 is at least narrower than the support piece 29. It is possible. Alternatively, a protruding portion (the protruding portion has the same width and thickness as the support piece 29) is formed to protrude from the mounting surface S of the branch line lead portion 26 toward the outside of the base 20. In addition, by cutting a slit in the base portion near the mounting surface S of the protruding portion, a part of the protruding portion whose width is narrowed by the slit is connected to the connecting portion 28, and the other portion of the other protruding portion is the support piece 29. You may manufacture as follows.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 8, the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B are integrally connected by a flexible connecting portion 30C having flexibility. The end portion of the corrugated tube temporarily covering the upper open portion of 3 is fixed (secondary fixing).

  Each of the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B has a position check opening 32 for checking the insertion state and end position of the connecting piece 31 and the corrugated tube 40 for connecting to the base 20 side. A cover main body portion 33 provided with a guide, a base portion 35 provided with a guide recess 34, and a cover side locking portion 36.

  When the two corrugated tubes to be connected have different diameters, the flexible connecting portion 30C tilts itself so that the bases of the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B due to the difference in the outer diameters of the corrugated tubes Allowing (absorbing) the height deviation from 20. When the two corrugated tubes have the same diameter, the flexible connecting portion 30C covers both the corrugated tubes from above while maintaining the horizontal state.

  The connecting piece 31 is locked to the base 20 side when the ends of the two corrugated tubes 40 that are primarily fixed (temporarily fixed) on the base 20 side are covered with the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B. A locking projection 31A is provided to be locked to the locking claw 23B of the connecting piece locking hole 23A.

  The guide recess 34 receives the guide bar 25 formed on the base 20 when the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B are attached to the base 20 and smoothly moves vertically downward along the guide bar 25. Guide to move.

  The cover side locking portion 36 closes the end portions of the corrugated tubes at the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B after primary fixing (temporary fixing) at the base side locking portion 22 on the base 20 side. Used for permanent fastening (secondary fastening). The cover side locking portion 36 elastically engages the bellows valley on the outer surface of each corrugated tube end to prevent the corrugated tube 40 from moving in the axial direction.

  Next, a branch line drawing operation for branching a part of the electric wires 50A from the electric wire bundle 50 constituting the main trunk line accommodated in the two corrugated tubes 40A and 40B using the holder 10 of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 1. Description will be given with reference to FIG.

  In this holder 10, two corrugated tubes 40 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and a predetermined electric wire (branch line) 50 </ b> A is drawn out from an electric wire bundle (main trunk line) 50 inserted inside. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the corrugated tube 40 is sandwiched from above and below by the base 20, the first upper cover 30A, and the second upper cover 30B, and fixed integrally.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, an electric wire (branch line) 50A drawn out from the corrugated tube 40 is drawn out from the branch line lead-out part 26 to the outside of the holding tool 10 and mounted on the support piece 29, and is then attached with a vinyl tape T or the like. The support piece 29 is wound around and fixed.

  The electric wire (branch line) 50A wound and integrated around the support piece 29 in this way is arranged in a predetermined direction via a connecting portion 28 that can be bent in the vertical and horizontal directions according to the layout in the body of the automobile. It can be pulled out and routed to perform predetermined wiring, and electrical connection with predetermined electrical components can be achieved.

  In addition, in order to branch a part of the electric wire bundle 50 which is the main trunk line, the two corrugated tubes 40 are separated from each other, and a part of the electric wires (branch wires) 50A are drawn from the electric wire bundle 50 in the separated part. However, for example, the corrugated tube 40 may be divided into two parts, and a part of the electric wire bundle (branch line) 50A of the electric wire bundle (main trunk line) 50 inside the corrugated tube 40 may be drawn out from the divided part. Furthermore, a part of the corrugated tube 40 may be opened, and a part of the electric wires (branch lines) 50A may be drawn out from the electric wire bundle (main trunk line) 50 therein.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when a part of the electric wires 50A is pulled out from the electric wire bundle 50 in the corrugated tube 40 and supported by the support piece 29 to be branched, the mounting surface S on the base 20 side, the support piece 29, Since the connecting portion 28 that connects between the two can be freely bent vertically and horizontally, the drawn branch line can be drawn in a predetermined direction.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, even if a sharp protrusion or the like is formed at the routing position inside the vehicle body where the branch line lead part 26 of the holder 10 is installed, the branch line lead part 26 The branch wire 50 </ b> A partially drawn out from the wire bundle 50 is supported by the stepped portion 27 installed outward from the attachment surface S. Thereby, for example, even if there is a sharp projecting portion inside the vehicle body described above, it is possible to prevent the electric wire (branch line) 50A from coming into contact with the sharp portion or the like.

  Furthermore, when the electric wire (branch wire) 50A is, for example, a highly rigid electric wire (same for a wire harness) or the outer diameter of the electric wire is large, the bending angle at which the electric wire can be pulled out from the corrugated tube is limited. There is a risk of being. In other words, for example, if the bending is performed without undue breakage and the like, it is generally necessary to ensure a larger radius of curvature for a larger diameter electric wire or a higher rigidity.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the drawing angle can be set freely due to the presence of the connecting portion 28, the branch line 50A can be pulled out from the main trunk line 50 within the minimum allowable radius of curvature. Thereby, it can avoid that stress concentrates on the bending part bent at an excessively steep angle, and an electric wire breaks.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the corrugated tubes are integrated by being sandwiched from above and below by the first upper cover 30A and the second upper cover 30B connected by the base 20 and the flexible connecting portion 30C. Since it is the structure to fix, even if the outer diameters of both tubes differ, the outer diameter difference can be absorbed by the flexible connecting portion 30C being bent, and versatility is enhanced.

  In the present embodiment, only one branch line lead part 26 is provided for the base 20, but the branch line lead part 26 is provided at a plurality of places of the base 20, and the branch line lead part 26 is attached. A plurality of connecting portions 28 and support pieces 29 may protrude from the surface S.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although it is used for wiring of the wire harness for vehicles, it is not limited to this in particular, For example, the trunk line embed | buried in the underground common groove | channel and penetrated in the corrugated tube The present invention can also be applied to a field where branch wiring is performed from a communication cable such as a plastic optical fiber (hereinafter referred to as POF). In this case, it is possible to freely set / adjust the drawing direction of the POF or the like. In other words, the drawing direction can be drawn within the allowable curvature range, so the POF at the time of routing Etc. can be prevented.

It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the holder which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the holder. It is an expansion perspective view which shows principal parts, such as a step part installed in the outward from the attachment surface of the base of the holder. It is a side view of the holder. It is a front view of the base of the holder. It is a bottom view of the base of the holder. (A) is the front view about the 1st upper cover of the holder, a 2nd upper cover, and a flexible connection part, (B) is the bottom view. It is the VIIIB-VIIIB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the holder of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the drawer state of the branch line by the holder of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10 Holder 20 Base (main part)
21 holder part 26 branch line lead part 27 step part 28 connection part 29 support piece 211 elastic holding piece 30A first upper cover 30B second upper cover 30C flexible connection part 40A corrugated tube 40B corrugated tube 50 wire bundle (main trunk line)
50A electric wire (branch wire)
S Mounting surface T Tape

Claims (3)

A main body for holding a corrugated tube through which a bundle of electric wires serving as a main line is inserted;
A branch wire lead-out portion formed by opening a part of the main body portion and for drawing a part of the electric wire constituting the wire bundle as a branch wire;
A connecting portion that protrudes from the opening end of the branch line lead-out portion toward the outside of the main body, can be bent in any direction with respect to the main body, and / or can be twisted;
A support piece that is formed at the tip of the connecting portion and supports the branch line drawn from the branch line lead portion;
Have
The connecting portion protrudes from the end portion on the bottom side of the main body portion at the opening end portion of the branch line drawing portion toward the outside of the main body portion,
The main body portion is formed with a step portion that protrudes toward the outside of the main body portion, located on the bottom side of the main body portion from the position where the connecting portion protrudes from the opening end portion of the branch line lead-out portion. Being
A holder characterized by that. The holder according to claim 1 , wherein the connecting portion has a width of the connecting portion narrower than that of the support piece. The holder according to claim 2, wherein the connecting portion is substantially cylindrical or prismatic.

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